lifeline. >> reporter: definitely did, doreen. good news for susan rice today. we learned that here on the hill from democrats, including dutch runnersburger from baltimore. members of the house and senate who today got closed-door briefings from the cia. and reported later that the u.n. ambassador, susan rice, got a bit of a lifeline thrown to her by the agency. the cia corroborating what rice said she knew and when she knew it. but overall, she said this issue remained highly political, partisan, even personal. libya's become a battle between president obama and republican senator john mccain. who insisted again today the administration knew quickly that al qaeda had attacked. >> for the president of the united states for two weeks afterwards to deny that that was the case, is either a cover-up or it is incompetence. >> reporter: susan rice denied it.

infuriating republicans. acting cia director mike morrell on the hill today briefed some lawmakers on libya. one, a democrat said the account backed rice. that u.s. intelligence did give her the incorrect account that she passed on. >> that this was a spontaneous protest that evolved into something militant. that was the best information. they said they had at the time. >> reporter: there had been earlier attacks in benghazi. house republicans hammered the administration reaction. >> the people back at state here in washington continued to deny additional security. and they continued to do away with security that was already there. >> reporter: democrats pushed back. >> to lay this at the doorstep of the president, or the secretary of state, or the united nations ambassador, you will find us ready and willing to resist to the teeth. >> reporter: a fight over a tragedy that could become, by

david petraeus, who as cia director went to benghazi to investigate and will testify to congress tomorrow. petraeus may have quit in disgrace when he admitted adultery, but his believability on national security and bipartisanship will most probably lead both sides in this to believe what petraeus reports tomorrow about libya. from capitol hill, i'm steve handelsman, news4. attorney general eric holder talked about the petraeus issue for the first time today. and why the justice department did not notify the white house or anyone on capitol hill about the investigation sooner. president obama didn't find out about it until after election day. >> we do not share outside the justice department, outside the fbi, the facts of ongoing investigations. we made the determination as we were going through the matter,

that there was not a threat to national security. >> holder says it was an impartial investigation and it was not treated any differently because of the people involved. again, general petraeus is not facing any criminal charges. a murder trial involving a former bowie state university student is now in the hands of a jury. within the past hour, both sides in the 'licalexis simpson trial wrapped up. prince george's county bureau chief tracee wilkins tells us what simpson said on the stand today. >> reporter: two girls who did not like each other. they had a number of arguments throughout the school year before this incident happened. these are also two girls who came to school packing knives. in fact, today the prosecution used the deceased's knife to show an example of just how big the knife was that alexis simpson used to kill her. now, the prosecution saying that

although these girls did not like each other, and made some bad decisions, one of them took it too far and could spend the rest of her life behind bars. alexis simpson took the stand in her own defense today. simpson, who's out on bond is accused of stabbing and killing her roommate, dominique frazier, over an argument of loud music in their dorm last year. simpson testified she was scared of frazier, who she had had a number of arguments with. in cross-examination, the state prosecutor painted young simpson as a woman who wasn't afraid of conflict. the reality is, you weren't scare of dominique? simpson, i was. you weren't scared of nielha? i was. you're not scared of kiera? i was. the prosecutor said, you know knives hurt, knives kill, right? simpson, yes. you know if you plunge this into someone's neck, it could kill them, right? yes. then the state continued.

you jabbed her deep with a knife and then you swung and slashed her throat. simpson, i was swinging so they would leave me alone. i didn't intentionally stab her. you got the last word. what do you mean? you started the fight, you ended it. tearfully, what do you mean? simpson testified that after stabbing dominique, she called her mother and left to meet her possibly taking the knife she used with her. that knife was never found again. the prosecutor said, you gave it to your mother, because you knew she'd get rid of it, right? simpson, i didn't know anything. now, what happened to that knife is important, because if she got rid of the weapon, that could lead to guilt. and that's something that the judge told the jury to pay very close attention to. now, at 6:30, the jury is going to either come out with a decision or they're going to rest for the night and come back

tomorrow and continue deliberations. if convicted, she could be looking at up to 30 years in prison, or life behind bars without the possibility of parole. reporting live in upper marlboro, tracee wilkins, news4. police in fairfax county are asking for help in identifying a man who assaulted a teenager in a library. a 17-year-old girl said the man had been watching her and following her inside the jefferson library. it happened earlier this month in falls church. she said when she tried to get away from him by going into a restroom he followed her inside and assaulted her. the man in the photo had been there before, staff said. a principal in a district school has been arrested for assault. this comes after women started throwing punches after a high school football game. the woman's name is thelma jarrett. she turned herself in to police today. jarrett is the principal at coolidge high school. the alleged attack happened on

november 2nd in the school parking lot. a woman claims the principal and two other women who work at the school singled her out. the woman said jarrett punched her in the face. mayor vincent gray found the developments in his words, disturbing. >> i think what a terrible, you know, role model, if you can call it that, that this demonstrates to kids who look to principals to provide leadership, to provide examples of how they should comeport themselves. this is not what we want our leaders to do. >> jarrett has been suspended from her job pending the outcome of an investigation. the maryland dream act allows undocumented students to pay what maryland residents pay for college tuition. but a new study shows it could make the state safer and bring in more money, too. richard jordan joins us with more on what researchers say the plan means for maryland's future. >> doreen, the measure was approved by voters last week, but the study started a year

ago. it found a mostly positive impact even for those who are not immigrants. >> something i knew was going to happen. >> claudia's dream of going to college is now within reach. the bolivian undocumented teen rallied with thousands of other immigrants across the state this year to pay in-state tuition at a maryland university after meeting the strict requirements. >> if your mother and father are making half the amount of college is asking for out-of-state tuition, it's very difficult. >> but a study found a broader effect. they examined similar policies in california and texas. the researchers predict maryland's high school dropout rate will decline 4% to 5%. and that's not all. >> being in college means they're less likely to be in criminal activities, less likely to get pregnant, a whole range of risky behaviors for teenagers are lower for people in hicolle.

>> it will offset the initial higher government subsidies. an educated community will lead to better citizens who vote and volunteer. but what about the concern that undocumented immigrants take the limited spaces of legal citizens at universities. >> even the provisions of the act, that they have to attend community college for the first two years, we don't think that that's likely to happen. >> the overwhelmingly positive findings encourage those who otherwise could not afford to study here. >> i was actually talking to my mom. we made the decision that i was going to go back home and study there. >> now, this study also looked at the long-term effects and predicts a benefit of highly educated people paying taxes in the future. and fewer people on welfare. mark warner introduced a plan today to make voting faster across the country.

his legislation is motivated by the long lines in the recent election. the plan involves giving grants to states making it easier for people registered to vote. senator warner told senators today he finds it unacceptable that virginians had to wait up to five hours in order to cast a ballot. it was another cold day out there. not a whole lot of sunshine either. doug, is it going to get any better? >> it's really not, jim. i think we'll see a little bit more sunshine, but temperatures aren't going to respond all that much. look at the current numbers, 48 in washington, 41 in hagerstown. if this was the middle of december, you'd say, that's what we expect across the region. but this is the middle of november. temperatures five to ten degrees below average from new york all the way down towards jacksonville, florida. a very cold air mass continuing to sit around the region. with us today we saw plenty of cloud cover across the area. we'll talk about the cloud cover

and chances for rain over the next couple of days coming up. coming up, the brother of actress mia farrow arrested after accusations of abuse in a maryland neighborhood. israel moving closer to ground war with hamas. bp will pay the largest criminal penalty in american history after the gulf oil spill. i'm tom sherwood. it was one of the longest redevelopment fights in the city's history. but now that fight's over and construction is beginning soon. i'll have the story coming up.

israel and hamas are on the brink of war. attacks on both sides are escalating and claiming more civilian lives. but the israeli army is ready for a full ground invasion of the gaza strip. >> reporter: it's thursday night in gaza. very few people are out on the streets. it is an ominous sign of what could possibly happen in the coming days. what many people here fear could be a ground invasion or escalation of the ongoing israeli military operation on the territory. they've seen this in the past in 2008. israel carried out a ground invasion. there's growing concern that that may happen this time around as well. palestinian factions say that will not deter them, despite israel's claims to have

destroyed rocket warehouses and munition depots. they are still capable of firing rockets deep into israel. today they were able to fire rockets into the suburbs of tel aviv. >> israel is prepared to take whatever action is necessary. to defend our people. >> reporter: meanwhile on the diplomatic front, egypt continues to try to negotiate a truce between palestinian militant factions and israel. so far, that has not succeeded. but on friday egypt's prime minister is expected to make an unprecedented visit to the gaza strip. he's coming here with the hopes of perhaps mediating that truce. nonetheless, it is going to present a very interesting dilemma for the israelis, knowing a high-ranking egyptian is in gaza while they're trying to carry out this military operation. nbc news, gaza city, gaza. there is new video from new york's port authority which shows the moments when storm water surged into the subway system there at the height of

that superstorm sandy. the scope of the storm was unprecedented for some parts of the city, including its 108-year-old subway system. today president obama got his first up-close look at the damage in new york. he pledged to help. the game plan for recovery and promised to keep visiting until the damage is fixed. we're learning more about the fbi raid that landed a teenager in the hospital with shrapnel wounds. the fbi s.w.a.t. team searched several locations, including this home in district heights, maryland, today. the homeowner tells news4 his family was asleep when a full fbi s.w.a.t. team burst into the home. he says agents opened fire after yelling that his 18-year-old daughter had a gun. she's been released from the hospital after being hit by shrapnel. an fbi spokesperson said the s.w.a.t. officer felt threatened by the teen's gestures. the homeowner said she was unarmed. >> and they're shooting these

big ar-15s at her. and almost hit her. i told her to run back in the room. i said, go back in the room and stay there. nobody in handcuffs, nobody got led away in handcuffs, so what's the purpose of the search warrant. >> the homeowner says there were no firearms in the house, and denies any connection to a drug ring. after 12 years, construction will soon begin in a new development in west d.c. it will include apartments, town homes and retail stores. tom sherwood has reaction now from the local leaders and people in the neighborhood about this new project. >> reporter: workmen are preparing the construction site. but thursday, there was a pause for a long delayed ceremony. ♪ and the home of the brave >> reporter: it was brave after a dozen years of zoning fights, lawsuits and neighborhood battles. one of the city's longest property disputes ever.

work is finally beginning on the $130 million project of retail and housing. it will be built on wisconsin avenue in the shadow of the national episcopal cathedral and will replace a 1950s giants food store, a long-gone mckrory's, a massive parking lot and retail outlet. but the fight took a toll on the neighbors. eleanor was here in the 1950s when the old giants was built. >> and the same arguments surrounded building the -- this giants as now surrounds building the future giant that's going to be here. hopefully before i die. when they finally said that there would be no more obstacles, that they were going to pass on it, and they turned down all the lawsuits and everything, we said, yes! >> reporter: mayor gray and developers say despite the battles, the new project will bring new life and new retail to the neighborhood for the first time since the 1950s.

>> the neighbors have a vested interest. and they're within their rights to have a vested interest. if the developer doesn't know how to work with them, the developer probably ought to find another line of business to be in. >> reporter: in the district, tom sherwood, news4. kind of gray out there this afternoon, doug. it started out, we had a little sunshine earlier. what happened to it? >> the clouds moved in. the sun went behind those clouds. >> that's how it works. >> yeah, that's how it works. >> that's exactly how it works. that kept temperatures cool again today. a high of only 51. we are now sitting 11 out of 15 days this month below average. and we were well below average once again today, five to ten degrees below average. we're not the only ones. dealing with cloud cover right now. those clouds may help us stay a little bit above where we were earlier this morning. as far as the blow temperatures go. but not going to help too much. 51 degrees the temperature. that's what we saw for a high.

the average high is 58. seven degrees below average. look at the record high, 83 degrees set back in 1993. that shows you just how warm we can get this time of year. we're not even close to that now. 32 degrees away from a record high. yet again, below average. 48 is the current number. winds out of the northeast at eight miles an hour. we'll continue to see the numbers going down over the next few hours. with the winds even 5 to 10 miles an hour, you get a pretty good windchill out there. 36 in frederick. 36 in winchester. 39 in gaithersburg. so this cold air mass just continues to sit. not having any rain. don't worry about any rain out there. we'll see our chances of rain really decrease over the next couple of days. even though we have a couple of storm systems down to our south. here's one here. this is going to be a coastal storm. down toward portions of the carolinas, trying to bring rain our way. the atmosphere too dry. i don't expect to see any rain. that will move out. our next coastal storm is out

near st. louis now. it will make its way down to the south and it, too, will be out to sea. this is the one we were talking about for sunday and monday. right now, i don't think we'll see much of an impact at all except for the potential of cloud cover on monday. look at the numbers. 38 in boston. 57 in jacksonville. the average high temperature in jacksonville is close to 75. they were 18 degrees below average today. and you can take a look at the entire eastern half of the nation. we are staying cool. and that's going to be the trend for the next couple of days. chilly air is here. there's the rain to the south. watch how it fizzles out, and then tomorrow we get into some sunshine. still rather cool with high pressure starting to dominate. that high shifts over to the east. as it does, we'll see more sunshine during the day on saturday. saturday i think the best day out of the next couple of days. the best day of the weekend, sunday, not bad either. we'll see more cloud cover on sunday during the afternoon. cloudy and cool this evening. temperatures 36 to about 45 degrees with the light wind. tomorrow morning, partly cloudy, chilly. again, 28 in the suburbs to 38

in the city. tomorrow afternoon, not bad. actually a pretty good friday. if this was mid-december, you'd be like, this is a great day. but we are still going to be about five degrees below average, still cool. winds out of the northeast at five to ten miles an hour. highs in the low 50s. 54 for tomorrow, 54 on saturday with abundant sunshine. clouds on the increase on sunday. still a little breezy. we come up to the day on monday where we're looking at more clouds and a slight chance of potential a.m. drizzle, maybe fog, depending on how the coastal storm develops. the bulk of that storm will miss us. that tells us we're looking at dry conditions tuesday, wednesday and thursday. things really start to increase as far as temperatures go. and by thanksgiving, we're looking at 60 degrees, with some sunshine. >> we'll be able to get outside on thanksgiving. >> yes. and i did not have any takers last year. i asked if anybody is planning an outdoor football game on thursday. we need a quarterback. >> mm-hmm.

he plays rough, though, from what i hear. i don't know if i would go for that one. coming up, a strike that could lead to a world without twinkies. it's true. a violent street gang that got its start here in chinatown. they rob their victims, they beat their victims, they say they do it for profit. and fun. i'm pat collins. the story coming up, news4. coming up in sports, patience can no longer be a virtue for d.c. united. what the wizards are trying to do to remedy their hapless situation. and the redskins, how they plan to shut down the eagles' big play potential as news4 at 6:00 play potential as news4 at 6:00 continues.

♪ ♪ no two people have the same financial goals. pnc works with you to understand yours and help plan for your retirement. visit a branch or call now for your personal retirement review.

tonight the brother of actress mia farrow is facing charges of child sex abuse and assault in maryland. he's accused of abusing two boys over a period of eight years. >> reporter: the accused, 66-year-old john charles villiers-farrow of edgewater, maryland, brother of actress and activist mia farrow. the crimes are alleged to have occurred between 2000 and 2009 beginning while the accusers were 9 or 10 years old. both in their 20s now came

forward over the summer. >> it certainly takes a lot of courage to come forward with this type of information and give that to law enforcement. >> reporter: the papers filed in anne arundel county court alleged the two boys, one of whom stayed briefly at the farrow home, were not strangers to the family. >> we're not ruling out the possibility there may be other victims out there. that's certainly a concern to us as a police department. obviously first and foremost our focus is on the victims. >> reporter: the youths were shown pornographic videos at first, then there was inappropriate touching and oral sex which was performed on both of the boys. sometimes with one present, other times while both were at the house. contact is alleged to have happened in a trailer on the farrow property. and one of the victims tells authorities that farrow's wife was at home asleep during an incident. one of the accusers told authorities that the incidents happened more times than he could count and both said it stopped when they were in their early teens. according to court documents, farrow had asked the boys to perform acts on each other in front of them. they refused.

>> based on our investigation led us to the state attorney's office. we decided to go forward with charges. an application was filed on november 8th. >> reporter: farrow turned himself in to authorities wednesday evening and is being held on $250,000 bond. in anne arundel county, derrick ward, news4. there are hopes that former cia director david petraeus will bring clarity into the investigation on the attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi. petraeus is expected to testify at two closed hearings tomorrow on capitol hill. there were several angry exchanges among lawmakers at an open hearing in the house today. the jury in the alexis simpson trial will be checking in with the judge in the next few minutes. if they don't reach a verdict, they'll continue tomorrow. the former bowie state university student is accused of stabbing and killing her roommate. shed said it was an accident and

afraid of frazier and trying to scare her with the knife. tonight, nine accused gang members are charged in a string of beatings and robberies in the district. the attacks happened in some of the city's most popular neighborhoods including chinatown and foggy bottom. one is now living in fear. >> reporter: he was attacked near this bus stop in chinatown. he's one of the gang's victims. so severe his injuries, that in the hospital they had to use staples to help his head heal. today i talked to him by phone. >> they slit my head open, and my head was bleeding for like a week afterwards. and i was like knocked unconscious. >> reporter: it was june 5th, around 3:00 in the morning. he was in chinatown. he was going to take one of those buses to new york. he was attacked here. knocked to the ground. beaten and kicked unconscious.

they took his cell phone, they took his money, his credit card and backpack. and while he was still unconscious, they pushed his body beneath the seat of the bus shelter so it wouldn't be detected. when it was over, police say this surveillance video shows the gang members hanging out at yet another bus shelter in chinatown. because of this chinatown attack, this victim says he gets nervous now when he encounters a lot of people. >> i've been more nervous around like large crowds at night and also during the day. >> reporter: they go by names like mclovein, drizzy, and k.o. it's a gang that first got together on the streets of chinatown. but police say they also attack people on metro, and other popular parts of our city as well. >> victims of these attacks are left with broken jaws, broken teeth, and severe injuries,

hospitalized sometimes for days with numerous surgeries. >> reporter: the chief says they've done slash mob robberies at gas stations and drugstores. she said they even targeted the homeless. >> some of these attacks included unprovoked beatings on homeless individuals, in some cases as they slept. >> reporter: tonight we have nine people charged in an 18-count indictment. but the chief says stay tuned. there's more to come. in chinatown, pat collins, news4. tonight an area hospital is defending itself after a woman said a doctor at the hospital left a drill bit in her foot after surgery. officials at med star montgomery medical center said they immediately addressed the situation when they learned about it. in the statement they say the hospital maintains rigorous quality assurance review. a woman said she plans to sue the doctor and the hospital for malpractice. virginia's ready to open new express lanes on saturday aimed at making the commute faster and

easier. now, critics question why there aren't the same kind of improvements under way on the maryland side of the beltway. aaa says it hopes, quote, rip van maryland will awaken from its long transportation slumber. montgomery county leaders are also fed up with the lack of progress. >> the state does not have any dollars. and right now they have no plan. so the combination of no dollars and no plan, we're just shaking our heads and saying, please, guys, focus on this. >> one proposal calls for turning some shoulder lanes on the beltway into bus-only lanes, but there are complaints that's not a long-term fix. students from george mason university have the opportunity to study and live with endangered species. it's part of an education program at the smithsonian's new biology center in front royal, virginia. julie carey got a tour. >> reporter: on one side of

campus, endangered animals roam. on the other side, college students in a lab. the creatures and students are sharing space on the 3,200 acres that make up the smithsonian conservation biology institute. this fall, thanks to a partnership between george mason university and the smithsonian, students live and learn at the institute. think of it as a unique study abroad program. >> it's beneficial. we get to mix and mingle with some of the top scientists in the field every day just over lunch. and it's a really great opportunity. >> reporter: whether it's in the dining hall, in the lab, or doing field work, these students are immersed in their program. half the faculty is from mason, half from the smithsonian. this brand-new dorm houses students during the semester-long experience. also new for the program, these two buildings that used to house the leopards and red pabndas, th they're now classrooms.

in one room they were doing gps mapping of bird houses. this inaugural class is sold. >> it's really specialized for the students. small classes. we get really good one-on-one time with our teachers. >> the link between these two programs being here on site, actually opens up a lot of doors for the students. >> reporter: students also spend one day a week essentially interning on site. some helping with the rare animals here. another selling point? all of the time outside the classroom. >> i'd say three out of every five days some weeks we're out there in the field doing research, like one week we were gathering turtles to count the number of endangered turtles in this one area. >> reporter: the program is not limited to george mason students. as it grows, the goal is a lofty one, to offer the best. >> we want to be the best at training conservation in the world. very ambitious goal.

>> reporter: julie carey, news4. >> pretty interesting. coming up, bp agrees to pay a record fine for the gulf oil spill. settlement also includes manslaughter charges. we'll tell you about the computer glitch that stranded passengers all over the country. how about our weather, doug? >> weather on the cool side. i want to show you something even cooler that's going to be happening coming up this weekend. take a look. 37 degrees overnight. that will be saturday night. i want to show you, though, the leonid meteor showers this saturday night. peaking early saturday morning, rather, face to the east, look straight up, maybe ten meteors per hour.

thousands of united airlines passengers dealt with delays this morning after a massive computer glitch. the trouble lasted for a couple of hours, and it involved 200 flights. it's the third time this has happened to united since june. the company traced the trouble back to when it switched its computer system to the one used by continental airlines. the companies merged a couple years back. bp, the oil company, is now agreeing to pay a record-setting fine, $4.5 billion for that massive oil spill in the gulf of mexico in 2010. as jay gray explains, the settlement also includes pleading guilty to criminal charges. >> reporter: the oil spread for miles after the collapse of the deepwater horizon well. choking away wildlife and crippling communities all along the gulf coast.

and today more than two years after the disaster, we learn the punishment is far reaching as well. >> this marks both the largest single criminal fine, more than $1.25 billion, and the largest total criminal resolution, $4 billion, in the history of the united states. >> reporter: as part of an agreement announced this afternoon in new orleans, bp will plead guilty to 1 charges for its role in the worst oil spill in u.s. history. among the most serious, 11 counts of misconduct or neglect that led to the deaths of 11 crew members the night of the fiery blast and well collapse that triggered the spill. >> make no mistake, while the company is guilty, individuals committed these crimes. >> reporter: additional charges include obstruction of justice for lying to congress about the amount of oil that poured out of the well for months, closing beaches and keeping shrimpers,

fishermen and so many others who made their living in the gulf off the water and out of work. >> to know they were lying, and our livelihoods were in jeopardy. that's a crime in itself. >> reporter: in a written statement, bp responded to the agreement saying in part, we apologize for our role in the accident and as today's resolution further reflects, we've accepted responsibility for our actions. actions that still have a ripple effect in the water and in the lives of so many along the gulf coast. jay gray, nbc news, new orleans. the company that makes twinkies is telling its striking workers, you either end this strike or we will shut down the company. officials at hostess are saying tonight that they will make an announcement probably in the morning. the workers there are still on strike at this hour. the company gave them until 5:00 this evening to end the strike, leave the picket line. if they did not, hostess

officials will ask a bankruptcy judge to liquidate. all the production could stop on tuesday. the strike started last friday. workers are protesting cuts in their pay and benefits. no twinkies. >> can you imagine? >> no. >> i was so sorry about the jobs. but maybe that's not such a bad thing to have no more twinkies. you can still get a cupcake. >> i suppose they're everywhere. coming up, we're going to talk about the wizards who have been playing like twinkies lately. they have not won a game. dc united looking to make up ground against houston. no rest for the redskins. coming out of the bye week, they have to play two games in five days.

welcome back, everybody. a very chilly afternoon. once again, even though we saw a little bit of sunshine, temperatures were still well below average. right now we're sitting at 48 degrees. winds out of the northeast at 8 miles an hour. that puts our windchill around 43, 44 degrees. take a look at the numbers, already at 39 in gaithersburg, warrenton coming in at 41 degrees, huntingtown currently at 40 degrees. a chilly evening. no rain to talk about.

you're not going to need the umbrellas over the next seven to maybe ten days. our weather will be fairly tranquil across the region. there are a few showers in southern virginia trying to move to the north. the cloud cover is getting here. i don't think the rain will get here because it's too dry in the mid-layers of the atmosphere. 27 in winchester. 34 in la plata. another cool start to your day tomorrow. tomorrow, though, i do think we'll see a little bit more sunshine. that means a little bit more weather. high temperatures in the low to mid-50s tomorrow. hopefully everybody makes it out of the 40s. let's hope so. thanks, doug. did i hear you say two games in five days? >> yeah. >> that doesn't seem fair. >> it's crazy, especially when you want to think about the health of the players, which has been such a big deal. there are several teams that had to deal with this. mike shanahan had to deal with getting a raw deal after a press conference where he said we're going to evaluate players for the rest of the year. he said, here's the plan. in the first practice coming out of the bye week, i'm going to

show the team the standings. so he showed them all of the nfc standings. redskins tied for last place with the eagles, but one game behind the cowboys. even at 3-6, the redskins still essentially control their own destiny. five of the redskins' last seven games are against division opponents starting with the eagles on sunday. the eagles have dominated the redskins the last three years. this week the eagles coming in with a rookie quarterback. but jim hazlett still concerned about the other weapons they have on offense. >> their offense will not change. it's going to come out and they're going to try to move the ball up and down the field. they're going to run a bunch of different things at you early. and you've got to be able to withstand the onslaught early. you kind of settle into what we do and what they do. >> you let them hit a big play and quick strike and score a touchdown. then they can kill you. snap it again, snap it again, give them a chance to make

mistakes in the red zone which has been what they've been plagued by this year. we have to capitalize on that. they're going to try to pick on us, and we see that with other teams, we've got to do the same. >> so this next week will define the redskins' season. the eagles on sunday. a thanksgiving day game in dallas. both division opponents. two losses would suck the life out of this team. two wins would be like an injection of red bull into the fan base and the franchise. >> when we looked at the schedule earlier in the year, i didn't think they did us any favors. you think about having to play five division games of the last seven, tough opponents coming up. but that's the hand we're dealt. the main thing, we've got to focus on philadelphia. >> we turn around and play thursday. these next two weeks -- this

game is still the most important thing. next week is pretty much off. that's the way we've got to post the rest of the season. this week is the only week that matters, because the next week doesn't exist. >> mike shanahan got $3,700 and his passport stolen from the coaches' locker room in pittsburgh when they played the steelers. >> tacky. >> he thought it was secure and they had to file a police report. they're trying to figure out exactly what happened with that. >> not a good day for him at all. >> all the way around. >> you're right about that. jamal brown missed practice with a sore hip. he is attempting, of course, to come back from pre-season hip surgery. things do not look good for him. somebody needs to surgically repair the fan face in the wizards these days. right now, it's just not there. the wizards lost again last night. they're now the nba's only winless team at 0-7. perhaps this young man can provide a spark. sean livingston signed by the wizards today.

livingston, the fourth overall pick out of high school in the 2004 nba draft. after suffering a gruesome knee injury, he bounced around to five nba teams including the wizards during the '09 and 2010 season when he averaged nine points per game. the wizards did waive jen aro parvo. the second leg of the conference on sunday. dc united hoping duane will play for the first time in more than two months. dc united needing all the help they can get. they will have to outscore houston by three goals to advance. a three-goal win in major league soccer is rare. but united has done well at home. they haven't lost a home game since their home opener in march. the only team with a better record at home, their opponent, the houston dynamo. ben olson knows his team can't waste any time on sunday.

>> we're certainly going to have to be a little more aggressive. but nothing really has to change. we've had success at home playing the way we play at home. it's not a thing where we need two goals in the first 20 minutes. we know we have to be aggressive. we know we have to go after them. but we also have to be patient. >> we have a huge task ahead of us that we're excited about. we want to continue proving people wrong. and do things that people don't expect out of us. >> we've just got to keep going out there and doing our thing. it hasn't failed us yet. the belief this team has in itself, and this coaching staff, and fans, there's no doubt in my mind we can't go out there and do it. >> that would be nice to see that young man among the candidate for postseason awards handed out later this month. let's hit the hellie pad.

you know the goalie for the women's soccer team, officially off the market. she married jeremy stevens one day after he was arrested for domestic violence assault against solo but wasn't charged. that's weird. another terp down for the count. wes brown needs surgery on his shoulder. major league baseball reviewing the massive trade between the marlins and blue jays. this comes as no surprise to you guys. you know that reporter sometimes in the newsroom, sometimes out of the newsroom, we talk a little trash to each other. >> sometimes. >> we do? >> we do. occasionally. redskins park, this goes on all the time. usually it's never settled. apparently the redskins beat reporter for comcast sports net used to write about the capitals for the "washington post" and joseph white from the associated press had a little debate. check this out. down for the count.

>> that's embarrassing. >> check this out. >> when they finally did finish, he runs a 5:9:40. that just goes to show you how fast these guys in the nfl are. tark's 37 years old. >> a little overdressed for a race. >> for a race do you think? >> yeah. >> i thought it was pretty funny. he blamed it on the wet turf when he went down. >> what's your 40 time? >> i'm not going there right now. >> what's your 40 time? >> it was under 5 in college. that's all i know. >> here we go. >> go ahead, you want to tell us what yours is, obviously. >> it was so long ago, it doesn't even matter. we'll be right back. apparently it did not pay off to calm, cool and collected while

coming up at 11:00, millions of tax dollars spent on an empty

field. now years later it remains untouched. tonight the i-team explains why the future of the property is dividing the community. and plans to close 20 public schools in the district. both stories tonight at 11:00. final check on the weather. we're going to stay cool. our average high temperature this time of year is 58 degrees. we're going to stay below that number until thanksgiving. at least that's the forecast. 54 degrees on friday. 54 on saturday. the redskins taking on the eagles on sunday, 52 degrees. monday, looking good, i think, but we could see a.m. drizzle, maybe low clouds on monday. that's probably the best day in the forecast. gets better on tuesday, better on wednesday with a high of 57. thursday for thanksgiving coming up with a temperature of 60 degrees. everybody here happy about that. dan, however, will be in dallas where the temperature will be 72 degrees, as they will most likely have the stadium closed this time of year as we take on the redskins.

dan, i hope you bring us luck, buddy, because we need it, man. >> if it's 72, they should keep it open. >> no, inside, cool, collected. >> you won't need to take your passport. >> or cash. >> or cash. okay. we're going to tell you about one really calm thief. last tuesday afternoon, a guy walked into this bank of america in manassas. strode up to a bank employee and handed over a note demanding money. what the guy did next is baffling everybody. he calmly took a seat in the bank and then waited patiently for the employee to come back with the money, i guess. the employee went to another room and she called the cops. officers arrived. they took the man into custody. his name is john thomas. they say he did not have a weapon. never even implied that he had one. he lives in manassas, 43 years old. he's held without bond now behind bars. he'll have a lot of time to sit patiently and wait for his court

date in january. "nightly news" is up next.